Word: thieu
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...business of running the government, Thieu has also had to start with the most basic object?survival. Among the top aims of the 1968 Tet offensive, after all, was the overthrow of the U.S. "puppet" government in Saigon. The Communists made no headway whatever in provoking civil disorder, and that aim was notably absent in the current offensive. But because of that presumed vulnerability, Thieu has spent more than a little effort in simply assuring the nation that he is alive and well in Saigon...
Moreover, the national government that Thieu inherited after his election was anything but national, and hardly a government at all. National politics has traditionally begun and ended within the confines of Saigon, showing little concern with roots in the countryside. Ministers and military administrators tended to run their departments in the same way?and were certainly not encouraged to venture far from home during the blurry succession of military-backed strongmen who held power before Thieu. As a result, there was simply no chain of command that Thieu could rely on. Instead, he found a government of intensely jealous fiefdoms...
...South Viet Nam's government?corruption?is so pervasive that neither stern warnings nor the outright firing of half the 44 province chiefs and 91 district chiefs has made more than a dent, though the new men are generally admitted to be improvements. But to the extent that Thieu can finally expect his most urgent orders to be followed, he has managed to organize a functioning government. Says Tran Quoc Buu, head of the Vietnamese Labor Confederation: "A year ago, South Viet Nam was many states within the state. A local military commander could make any policy he wanted...
Above all, Thieu's government has begun to develop a sense of realism about the future. His concern with pacification, superficial as the program is in some senses, represents an admission that hamlet dwellers are a source of political strength, and that their loyalty could turn the tide in the event of a ceasefire. Thieu often voices the standard South Vietnamese argument against giving the National Liberation Front a political status, pointing out that Communism is synonymous with violence in Viet Nam. In fact, however, he has reached the inevitable conclusion that his government must some day learn to deal...
...interview with TIME Correspondent Marsh Clark, President Thieu last week discussed conditions for scaling down the war and his hopes of winning the political struggle...